Mobilink GSM Pakistan: An MBA Report
Mobilink GSM Pakistan: An MBA Report
Contents
Mobilink, The Company
- Company Profile 1
- Mission 5
- SWOT Analysis 7
Scope of This Study 9
Customer Services Department – Before Reengineering
- Organization Structure – Customer Services 10
- Key Performance Indicators 11
- Processes 12
- Problems in the customer services departments
Customer Services Department – After Reengineering
- Overview
- Organization Structure – Customer Services
- Processes
- Training Requirements
- Benefits Expected
- How Jobs Will Change?
- Implementation of IT
COMPANY PROFILE
PMCL (Mobilink) is the market leader in providing state-of-the-art communications solutions to more than 115,000 people in Pakistan. We can proudly boast of being the first cellular service provider in Pakistan to operate on a 100% digital GSM technology.
We offer tariff plans that are exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a diverse group of people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To achieve this objective, we offer both post paid (Mobilink) and the prepaid (JAZZ) solutions to our customers.
In addition to providing advanced voice communication services, we also offer cost efficient data services to our customers. Keeping in mind our customers’ convenience, we also deal in mobile handsets, sold either independently or bundled in All-in-One Packs.
Mobilink GSM has the most efficient distribution channels that facilitate the sales of our products and services in more than 30 cities and towns across the country. These include:
- An in-house Sales Team
- Mobilink GSM Centres (Pakistan’s first franchised network in )
- Connect Point-Of-Sales Express Shops (POS)
What makes Mobilink GSM the preferred choice of its customers is that we provide state-of-the-art value Added Services that no other cellular operator offers. A few of these include Short Message Service (SMS), Mobilink GSM-The News Infoservices, Mobilink GSM G-Mail, Mobilink GSM G-Mail, Mobilink GSM Fax & Data Services, International Roaming, Secure Communication and Innovative tariff structures.
During the last five years, Mobilink has set up one of the largest cellular networks in the country. Currently, we are covering more than 55 cities and towns. This has involved an investment in the company of more than US$ 150 million. We have 3 Switches and more than 141 cell sites across the country and plan to add about the same number of cell sites in the next two years.
SERVICES
MOBILINK GSM has always been the market leader when it comes to introducing state-of-the-art communication solutions for its customers. We are continuously adding up to the range of our Value Added Services, all for your convenience.
The Value Added Services (VAS) Section will familiarize you with the new services you can now benefit from, which will give you all the freedom you need, making mobile communications more exciting, convenient and enjoyable. This section will walk you through services, which are not only useful but also cost-effective for both your business as well as personal use. These include the very basic yet indispensable services like Voice Mail to the more innovative and sophisticated ones like G-Mail.
We are confident that our innovative and exciting new services will bring about a revolution in the way you look at mobile communications.
- SMS: SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE
MOBILINK GSM SMS allows you to send and receive text messages from your mobile to other MOBILINK GSM and JAZZ users.
- WEB 2 SMS
Your friends and colleagues that do not have a MOBILINK GSM phone can also send you an SMS of up to 160 alphanumeric characters simply by visiting our website www.mobilinkgsm.com. You can receive SMS from WEB even if you haven’t subscribed to SMS, but have the message receiving option.
- SMS TO ICQ
SMS to ICQ will enable you to send an instantaneous ICQ message to anyone from your own mobile.
- SMS TO EMAIL
Now all MOBILINK GSM users can send email from their mobiles to any email address with SMS character limitation of 160 characters.
- THE NEWS INFOSERVICES
Your Mobilink GSM phone has been transformed into an information centre. It will now keep you updated with the latest headlines, weather updates, stock index, entertainment news, horoscopes, sports and more, anytime, anywhere in our coverage areas.
- G-MAIL
This is an added benefit that MOBILINK GSM-The News Infoservices offers you. Your friends, family and colleagues can now send you e-mails of up to 160 alphanumeric characters on your mobile from anywhere in the world using their own e-mail accounts.
- EMAIL NOTIFICATION
Every time you get a new mail in your Hotmail, Yahoo account, you will get a notification on your mobile phone. However, ISP e-mail notification is an ISP dependent feature, and can only work with ISPs that offer e-mail-forwarding service.
- DATA
For using Data service, simply connect your handset to your laptop, or even palmtop, and you are ready to get what you need from your corporate or personal databases. This service could also be used on Notebooks, PCs or PDA that are cabled to a GSM phone through a PCMCIA card.
- CLI (CALLER LINE IDENTIFICATION)
You can see the telephone number of the caller before you answer the call.
- CW (CALL WAITING/HOLDING)
You never have to miss an important call again. If you are already on a call and someone else calls you, your phone will indicate through a beep and by displaying the number/name of the caller that another call is trying to reach you. You can then choose to place the current caller on hold and answer the new call.
- CF (CALL FORWARDING)
Call Forwarding allows you to divert incoming calls to your Voice Mail or another MOBILINK GSM number, when your mobile is busy, unreachable or you don’t want to be disturbed.
- VOICE MAIL
When you can’t take a call, the caller can record a message for you.
- CLUB 300
An exclusive club that provides personalized service to our most valuable customers. 300 membership entitles you to priority call handling on Help Line, priority personal service at all MOBILINK GSM Customer Service Centres and a lot of other special discounts and waivers. You get a designated Account Manager who is also your sole point of contact for any sort of service you may require.
- CALL CENTER
Mobilink is the first cellular company in Pakistan to introduce a state of the art call center for swift and easy availability of services to its customers. This system is a multimedia, multiactivation platform for advance call processing.
MISSION OF MOBILINK IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“To be a superior communications service company in Pakistan which provides the best value to its customers, employees, business partners and shareholders.”
We are committed to achieve customer satisfaction by ensuring that all team members understand & meet customer requirements and maintain effective quality management system through the involvement of all team members.
We strive to provide/deliver timely and error free information/services to our customers.
We also pursue ever-improving quality through different training programs for team members that enable each member to do his or her job right at the first time.
We stand at the cross roads of a mobile revolution that is on a verge of embracing the country. Mobilink is a forerunner in this revolution. It is at the epicenter in the eyes of our existing as well as potential customers. We are and always will be the number one mobile telecommunications service provider in Pakistan. We will continue to strive to maintain the number one position as we have, and continue to pursue a strategy to acquire a solid infrastructure base.
Our mission is to completely change the image of Mobilink into one that inspires customer trust and confidence. Our focus will remain on acquiring a massive subscriber base by introducing new products, services and infrastructure expansion.
At Mobilink, our belief is that “Our people are our greatest asset”. We take great pride in acknowledging the contribution each one of us makes.
We focus on People Development and for that we ensure:
- Staff Mobilink with world class Professionals and ensure that the right systems are in place to encourage them to develop to their full potential.
- Create a collaborative and mutually supportive work environment that encourages people to grow.
- Build a team of professionals who deliver expertise by participating in business decisions.
- Develop Performance Management and reward systems underlying our Business strategy.
- We aim at making Mobilink a great place to work
- At Mobilink, the Customer always comes first. We, therefore, focus all our initiatives, strategies and operating procedures with the customer in mind.
- Our customer service is a logical extension of the Customer First approach… to provide quality services… not merely to meet our customer’s expectations but to exceed them…
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
- Mobilink GSM connotes a very strong brand name
- Mobilink is the largest cellular company in Pakistan
- 48% of the total market share is held by Mobilink (52% belongs to Ufone, Insta, Paktel)
- It has all major accounts of the country (i.e. multinationals and banks)
- It is enriched with a very literate and dedicated workforce
- It is proud to have 97% recovery rate when default occurs
- Connection grant time less than 5 minutes is one of the lowest in the industry
- It is the only one offering preactive packages
- Mobilink is the only one providing international roaming facility in more than 160 countries around the globe. Other companies offer 2 international roaming partners.
- Mobilink is the only one offering the short messages facility accessible to all other GSM networks
- Thoraya roaming is available for all Mobilink subscribers
- Internet data number (instead of a phone line, one can connect the modem to the cellular phone for internet connectivity)
- Largest number of direct and indirect outlets in the entire country with more than 15000 associates, retailers, and distributors.
- The mediation device at Mobilink is one of its kind and updates records instantly instead of batch updating.
- Billing Department now has IS0 9001:2000 certification, which is the first certification of a telecom company in South East Asia. In Pakistan, only 5 other companies have this certification.
Weaknesses
- There is a lot of load on the switch and sometimes customers get frustrated due to a lot of congestion.
- The performance of the customer services software called Jupiter is at times slow causing unnecessary delays and waits for the customer.
- Adequate office and counter facilities are lacking
- It is difficult for the customer to distinguish between the head office and the franchises. Hence, a poor service experience with the franchise personnel results in a negative name for Mobilink.
- There is a lack of coordination between departments causing inefficient use of resources and redundancies.
- Customers are bound to take Jazz because other available packages do not offer much.
- There are certain areas where Ufone service is available but Mobilink service is not.
Opportunities
- Service facilities can be expanded to areas that do not have cellular coverage (i.e. Northern areas)
- Cities are less covered in the south due to greater distances and sparseness between cities. Whereas, cities in the north are densely populated and are closer together hence, more cities are covered there.
- WAP, GPRs, and voice mail are services that can be expanded to serve as an additional source of revenue.
Threats
- Customers are not aware of the proper purchase procedures and hence buy packages from strangers. If there is a fraudulent case then there is no way of verification.
- Low customer satisfaction due to the charge imposed on SMS
- Paktel is offering 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. service for free.
- If a Ufone customer wants to change his/her package plan from post to prepaid then the number remains the same. Whereas, at Mobilink a change of plan causes a change of the cell number – a highly inconvenient feature for the customer.
- The launch of prepaid Ufone card will be a major threat to Jazz.
SCOPE OF THIS STUDY
This report will focus on the Customer Services Department at Mobilink. The following is the list of processes that have lent themselves for reengineering.
1. Change of MSISDN
- Transfer of Ownership
- Billing Inquiries
- Bill Adjustment for Recalculation of Bills
- Replacement of SIM
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART – BEFORE REENGINEERING
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Customer Services Department
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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
| No. | Performance Indicator | Target | Service Level | Actual | Actioned | Percentage |
| Operational Parameters | ||||||
| 1 | Change of Address (Jupiter Input) | 100% | Within 24 hrs | 8 | 8 | 100% |
| 2 | Change of Status | 4 | 4 | 100% | ||
| a | Sale Returns | 100% | Within 3 hrs | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| b | Ansacall (VMS) | 100% | Within 3 hrs | 18 | 18 | 100% |
| c | Call Waiting (CW) | 90% | Within 3 hrs | 0 | 0 | |
| d | Call forwarding | 90% | Within 24 hrs | 0 | 0 | |
| e | Caller line indentification | 90% | Within 3 hrs | 0 | 0 | |
| f | ISD activation | 80% | Within 48 hrs | 11 | 11 | 100% |
| g | International roaming | 80% | Within 48 hrs | 52 | 52 | 100% |
| h | Free numbers | 90% | Within 3 hrs | 0 | 0 | |
| I | NWD / LOCL | 90% | Within 3 hrs | 10 | 10 | 100% |
| 3 | New Activations | 90% | Within 3 hrs | 436 | 436 | 100% |
| 4 | Sale Returns (Calls) | 90% | Call within 24 hrs | |||
| 5 | Change of MSISDN | 95% | Within 3 hrs | 12 | 12 | 100% |
| 6 | Change of SIM | 95% | Within 3 hrs | 750 | 750 | 100% |
| 7 | CS Related Blocking | |||||
| a | Voluntary | 95% | Within half hr. | 44 | 44 | 100% |
| b | Stolen | 95% | Within half hr. | 100 | 100 | 100% |
| 8 | Duplicate Bill Requests | 95% | Same day | 300 | 300 | 100% |
| 9 | Transfer of Ownership | 90% | Within 24 hrs | 110 | 110 | 100% |
| 10 | Credit Enhancement | 90% | Within 24 hrs | 7 | 7 | 100% |
CHANGE OF MSISDN
Customer needs to change MSISDN due to
- Customer or user shifted
- Receiving obnoxious/dumb calls
- Customer wants a new number
Customer should be requested to visit or send a written request to customer services. CSE will inform the customer about the charges of change of number:
- 750 for next available number
- 1000 for silver number
- 2500 for golden number
- Rs,. 5000 for platinum number
In case of a & b Rs. 750 can be waived off after verifying the address of new city or dumb calls from MIS and billing department.
CSE will request the customer to pay the charges of change of MSISDN to the cashier and bring the receipt back to him.
When the customer brings the cashier’s receipt the CSE will ask the customer to selec ct MSISDN freom the list of available numbers.
CSE will prepare a CSAF which must contain the following essential details:
- Old MSISDN
- New MSISDN
- IMSI
- Value added services
- Receipts (if any)
CSE will pass on the required information to CS operations for change of number and activation. CSE forwards a copy to the store to update record.
CSAF will then be send back to the concerned center/CSE. CSE files the document
When can a person be issued a new number or MSISDN free of cost?
- Sale of number, which was originally being used by someone else, but that person has returned the connection. Although these numbers are kept blocked for six months before reissuance, but some of these numbers cause problems due to heavy incoming calls for the previous number holder.
- VVIP customer comes in and gets a golden number issued or has to have a number changed.
TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP
The process for transfer of ownership requires care and attention to detail at all stages because it almost amounts to getting a new customer into the system. Following steps are required to be taken for a change in ownership. A letter of transfer is furnished by the old customer, to the CSE with the copy of I.D. card.
CSE will check that the name is related or not with the other number. If yes then all the dues of related numbers or numbers should be cleared before further processing of transfer.
The new customer furnishes a letter of Acceptance to CSE along with the following documents:
- National id. Card
- National tax number or property tax number
- Address verification
- Two references
All the above information is entered in the CSAF by the CSE and the signature of the new customer is obtained on it. In case old customer has security waiver and new customer has to deposit the security for the transfer of that number.
If new customer requires security waiver he has to wait for the credit approval from C&C department before further processing of the transfer case
The CSAF along with copies of attached documents are sent to the office manger for approval. After taking the approval CSE will send the yellow copy of the CSAF to the concerned location’s store keeper. A copy of CSAF will be forwarded to CS operations for necessary changes.
CS operations will make the required changes and enter the scratch pad entry clearly stating about the change of ownership.
CS operations will return the CSAF to the concerned center/CSE.
CSE will inform the customer and file the document.
BILLING INQUIRIES
Customers can raise queries about billing either by visiting or calling the CSE. The CSE should first clearly understand the exact nature of the inquiry. Then the CSE will bring the Customer Information on Jupiter via Name or MSISDN.
When customer information becomes available, the CSE will check the authenticity of the caller (customer) by asking for the “User’s Name, Billing Address and the amount of the last bill”.
When the CSE is fully satisfied that the query is being made by a genuine customer regarding his/her “own” billing, then he/she should give the relevant information, and discuss any aspect the customer may desire.
ADJUSTMENT FOR RECALCULATION OF BILLS
Customer bill can be recalculated due to the following reasons:
- Package plan not changed according to customer request
- Free minutes are not given
- Wrong calculation of LLD or PMCL air time
- Line rent not charged according to billing cycle
- Value added services not charged according to the plans or as per the deal offered to the customer.
The customer visits or sends the bill with one or more of the above mentioned problems.
The CSE first identifies the problem by either going through Jupiter or from the customer’s bill. If some discrepancy is found, the Bill Adjustment Form is filled out, clearly stating the problem.
The CSE also attaches all documentary proofs in support of the BAF (i.e. the copy of the bill, change of Package Plan request, etc.)
The CSE will get the BAF approved by the Office Manager and forward it to the CS-Operations. The CS-Operations will make necessary changes in the billing code if required (in case of wrong billing code), and post the required credit note in Jupiter.
The CS-Operations will post the required credit note by keeping a copy of it and send the original BAF back to the concerned Center/CSE for filing.
The CSE will then inform the customer accordingly.
REPAIR / REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT
Any equipment purchased by a customer may be repaired/replaced within its warranty periods, without any cost. Warranty is furnished on purchase of equipment, therefore, change of equipment does not mean an extension in the warranty period.
Procedure for replacement of equipment will be as under:
Customer will come to CSE and explain the nature of the problem with the equipment. CSE will check the MS and prepare a detailed CSF – Tech.
CSE will give the CSF and the equipment to the CST for inspection and repair.
CST will repair the equipment and return it to CSE along with CSF, with his remarks on it.
If the repair is not possible, CST will say so on CSF and suggest replacement of equipment.
CST will return the CSF along with the equipment to CSE.
If the replacement is in order, the CSE will get it approved on the CSF by the AMCS.
The CSE will then take the equipment to the store along with the copy of SIR of the faulty phone from the customer’s file. If the customer is from another center then a copy of SIR will be obtained by fax.
Store will issue a replacement to CSE.
CSE will customer’s signature on SIR and give the new equipment to the Customer with a blue copy of SIR as gate pass.
Copy of the CSF will be then given to the storekeeper for record.
Original CS and SIR will be filed or sent the respective center.
REPLACEMENT OF SIM
SIM card can be replaced with the following reasons:
- a) SIM replacement from mini to full or from full to mini
- b) SIM stolen
- c) SIM faulty
- Check card/insert card problem
- Authentication
iii. Broken / cut / user abuse
- Blocked see supplier
Charges for replacement of SIM in case of (a) is Rs. 100.
Charges in case of (c i ) and (c ii) are nil.
Charges for cases (b), (c iii), & (c iv) is Rs. 700.
Customer comes or sends a written request for the replacement / reissuance of a SIM.
CSE will verify the customer by asking questions
After verifying CSE will check the card and inform the customer about the charges if required.
CSE will prepare a CSF in detail, stating why SIM needs to be replaced.
CSE will request the customer to pay the charges and bring the receipt back.
CSE after approval from Office Manager, will take the CSF along with the receipts to the store keeper and get the SIM replaced.
CSE will get the customer’s signature on the SIR and hand over the SIM and the blue copy of the SIR to the customer as the gate pass.
CSE will give a copy of the CSF to the storekeeper for record.
CSF will be forwarded to CS operation for change of SIM number in the Jupiter and for activation. CS operations will return the CSF after activating the SIM to the respective center / CSE. CSF and SIR will be filed in the customer’s file or sent to the respective center.
A copy of the CSF will be given to the store for their record and a copy to CS operations for up-dating the system.
CSF and the original copy of SIR will then be filed or sent to the respective center.
REPAIR / REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT / NON WARRANTY
A per company policy, phones which are not under warranty or are damaged by user abuse cannot be replaced or repaired without incurring cost set by the company.
CST will inspect the phone for user abuse effects such as crack in the housing of the phone, water residue if any in the phone or mishandling of any sort.
Procedure for replacement of equipment will be as under:
Customer will come to CSE and explain the nature of the problem with the equipment. The CSE will check the MS and prepare a detailed CSF, stating specifically that phone is not under warranty.
CSE will give the CSF and the equipment to the CST for inspection and repair.
CST will inspect the equipment and give an estimated cost of repair and time required for repairing the equipment and then return CSF to CSE.
IF repair is not possible, CST will write this remarks on CSF about the equipment.
If repair/ replacement is possible, the CSE will get it approved on the CSF by the AMCS.
The CSE will then ask the customer to deposit the required amount as service with the cashier.
The CSE will attach the receipts issued by the cashier with the CSF and hands it over to CST for repair.
The CSE will inform the customer as to how much time the repair will take. After repairs, the equipment will be handed over the CSE. CSE will get customer signature on the CSF and handover the equipment.
CSF will be filed or sent the respective center.
PROBLEMS IN THE CUSTOMER SERVICES DEPARTMENTS
- Currently when a customer comes in with a request related to billing / security, he/she is directed towards the finance desk. If the inquiry / request is related to sales then he/she is directed to the sales desk. This moving around wastes a lot of time and causes a lot of inconvenience to the customer.
Proposed Solution:
- There should be a single customer contact point. The customer should never be required to move around from desk to desk and waste time. The CSE should handle the finance and sales tasks him/herself.
Result:
- Time will be saved due to less moving around from desk to desk
- More satisfied customers due to quick processing of the request
- More satisfied employee, CSE, due to job enlargement and enrichment
- In the general procedure, the finance department is currently handing the CS operations the attached receipts and forms. The CS Operations passes this on the to CSE which then passes the forms and receipts to the customer.
Proposed Solution:
- The CSE should handle these form and receipts himself and the CS operations is no more required.
Result:
- Time will be saved
- More satisfied customers due to quick processing of request.
- When a security amount has to be decreased, the refund procedure is done through Lahore. For example, if security has to be changed from 8000 rupees to 1000 rupees.
- The customer comes in with the request and is required to fill a form.
- The CSE couriers this to Lahore. (Takes 1 day to get mailed).
- Lahore center verifies the information (Takes 2 days).
- Lahore center’s finance department receives the verified information and then attaches a refund check to the form (Takes 3 days)
- A letter is sent from Lahore to inform the customer that he/she can pick up the check from their city center.
- This is couriered back to the Karachi center (Takes 1 day)
- The customer comes to pick up the check. Mailing/Direct debit facility is not provided.
The entire procedure takes 10 days.
Proposed Solution:
- Each city center should take care of refunds itself (decentralization).
- The refund amount should be directly deposited in the customer’s bank account. If a customer does not have a bank account then the customer can pick up the check in person.
Results:
- Time will be saved
- Cost of courier will be saved
- Direct deposit would be convenient for the customer
- The general procedure does not call for the customer services executive to maintain a copy of the receipt of security. The only two records of the purchase of security are customer’s copy of the receipt and on the CS software called Jupiter. If in any case, Jupiter fails to reflect the security amount and the customer also does not have a copy of the receipt then change of security amount becomes a difficult task. Leaving the customer extremely dissatisfied with the service.
Proposed Solution:
- Jupiter’s reliability should be enhanced.
- CSE must retain copy of the original receipt.
Result:
- A more reliable system
- Enhanced customer satisfaction
- Each month Jupiter is required to process bills. This procedure takes about 4-5 hours and during this time the system is shut down. All the customer requests and queries are handled manually. This is a major problem for both the employees and customers.
Proposed Solution:
- Jupiter must be able to process bills and run regular operations simultaneously. If this facility is not available then this processing should be done by another supporting software.
Result:
- A more reliable system
- Enhanced employee satisfaction
- Enhanced customer satisfaction
- The call center in Lahore takes calls from all over the country. Sometimes the Lahore operators are not updated on the policies of other cities. For example, if a policy in Karachi changes these people don’t get updated in time, and hence often give customers inaccurate information.
Proposed Solution:
- Decentralization of call centers. Each major city will host its own call center to ensure that all operators are updated on the policies. This will increase the control and monitoring.
- Productivity will increase because each center will specialize in problems specific to its own city.
- Currently, churn is centralized. The churn control authority is controlling the all over churn in Islamabad. A simple front desk employee doesn’t have knowledge of all procedures and day to day business.
Proposed Solution:
Churn should be decentralized city wise. Targets should be given to control the churn to enhance job motivation. A simple front desk employee should have knowledge of all procedures and day to day business. Each employee should have access to the daily subscriber based management reports. All the employees should be informed about the status of their respective cities.
For example, Paktel, churn is decentralized and a target is given to each city to control the churn. The city with the lowest churn percentage wins a trophy. Thus this competition lifts motivation level of the employees. The employees start caring about the churn figures and become personally involved.
- The competition basis here is the number disconnections an employee retains. The system doesn’t authenticate that the employee actually truly retained this customer. For example, a person may come to disconnect his/her connection temporarily for 2 months. Employees have a tendency of adding these temporary disconnection requests in their retention list. This leakage in the system artificially inflates the number of truly retained customers.
Proposed Solution:
- Competition basis should change. When employees won’t get any benefit from a long retention list they will reflect true figures. This will also enhance true competition between the competing cities.
- Churn management should not only focus on the retention side, but should rather have a macro level view of the subscriber base. Churn management should be looking at a. daily increase in the subscriber base – added sales; b. how many reports are voluntarily blocked on the network; c. how many numbers are forced churn. Separate voluntarily blocked customers from those that are blocked on the system for more than three customers – these customers are churned by force.
PROPOSAL OF CHANGE – AN OVERVIEW
The reengineering plan includes the following:
- The customer services operations department has been removed from the organizational hierarchy, and most of the activities that were being carried out in this department now have been included in the job of the customer services executive.
- The job of the customer services executive has been redefined and his/her areas of operations have expanded. He/she has been assigned more responsibilities and also has been given more authority. He/she does not have to seek the office manager’s approval for every minute thing. He/she will be dealing with issues regarding customer services and finance. The finance department is no more a separate entity.
- The customer is provided with a single contact point. The customer is no more required to move around from desk to desk and waste time. The CSE should handle the finance, customer queries and sales him/herself.
- The emphasis is on decentralization. Each city center should take care of refunds itself, instead of getting them processed from Lahore, which increases the cycle time and also adds to the customer trouble. Similarly each city will have its own technicians, who would examine the equipments then and there.
- The bill processing system should be made more reliable and efficient. It should be able to cope up with the load and should be able to process bills and run regular operations simultaneously.
- Decentralization of call centers. Each major city will host its own call center to ensure that all the operators are updated on the policies. This will also increase the control and monitoring.
- The CSE will be maintaining two information systems; one will be the financial information system dealing with the financial record of the customers such as the bill payments; and the other will be the customer relation ship software carrying and processing the customer information. This system would include all the customer information such as information related to all the transactions that a customer makes. This system at any time will reflect the customer history and will help the CSE making decisions. In addition, the CSE will also be able to access the bill processing system Jupiter.
- The compensation plans of the employees ought to be changed as their jobs descriptions have changed and the new compensation policies should be in compliance with the new job descriptions of the employees.
- Emphasis should be laid on the training of the employees. Currently when an employee is hired he/she goes through a weak 15 day training procedure. This training period should be very intensive and must be improved in ways to provide maximum knowledge to the employee.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AFTER REENGINEERING
For Customer Services Department
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IMPLEMENTATION OF IT
Information Management is the key to higher productivity, greater efficiency, and lower costs for record storage. The idea of having a paper-free office is not just a matter of good housekeeping; it’s more efficient and it costs less.
Following information systems can be employed to enhance and support the functions and operations carried out in Mobilink. The implementation of these systems will result in marked improvement in efficiency in terms of speed, reliability and convenience.
- CUSTOMER SERVICE SOFTWARE:
This software will process all the information about the customer transactions. The CSE will mainly use this system and would be entering all the information about the customer transactions in the system. The examples of these transactions are: change of MSISDN, transfer of ownership, bill adjustment for the recalculation of bills, replacement of SIM, equipment repair and replacement etc. this system will at any point reflect all the information about the customer, including the history of his/her transactions. the CSE will not interface directly with the bill processing system i.e Jupiter. at the day end there will be a reconciliation of the Jupiter and the customer service software and all the information will be automatically updated in Jupiter. thus the need of manually updating Jupiter now will be eliminated.
- FINANCIAL SOFTWARE:
The finance and customer services have been merged and there is only one contact point of the customer .The finance department is no more a separate entity, the finances are also handled by the CSE and thus he will also mange a financial system that will keep track of all the information related to the customer payments, his balance in his account and any refunds or withdrawals that might have occurred. This system will help the CSE in making decisions regarding approval of waivers as he will be able to examine whether the customer has been making his payments on time. This system will also help the CSE in responding to customer queries regarding their payments and balances.
- CENTRALIZED DATABASE:
A centralized database should be provided (probably in Oracle) which should hold all the forms such as CSF, CSAF, SIR etc. this would eliminate the manual filing and the need to move the forms from one place to another which takes a lot of time. Anyone, needing a copy of the form can access the database. This database can also store the customer profiles categorized by geographic regions or further classification of the customer can also be done on the basis of whether the are corporate or local customers.
HOW JOBS WILL CHANGE?
THE MANAGER AS A COACH
The management style of coaching is the most effective way you can sustain employee productivity and effectiveness. This hands-on, one-of-the-team style of management provides a climate of trust that is conducive to keep employees motivated and engaged in their work. There are 4 key qualities to effective management and some points that a good manager should avoid, once the reengineering has been done.
- Loyalty
Employees today do not feel very secure in their jobs as they see their friends and family members go through job loss and the explosion of technology with the corporate resources being funneled in that direction. Mobilink can obviously not guarantee a life-long employment but they can show their loyalty to their employees in a number of ways:
- Honest communication: provide timely and reliable information to the employees, especially when the organization is going through change.
- Allow the employees to express themselves openly without any fear of punishment in order to build trust and loyalty with the staff.
- Encourage the employees to grow and develop their potential.
- Treat each employee as a unique individual.
- Listening
The manager should spend more time listening rather than managing. When listening to an employee, the manager must hold all calls unless urgent and also choose a private spot so that he/she can let the employee know that there will be no interruptions. Let the employees know that his/her opinions and suggestions are valued by the manager and the organization. Involve them in the decision making.
- Skills Stretching
To run a team that is competitive, creative and innovative, the manager should create an environment where the employees are given an opportunity to develop new skills. Assign important challenging jobs. Give them a chance to show what they can do. The manager should carefully evaluate the strengths, weaknesses and confidence levels of each employee, and move individuals into areas where their skills can be expanded and their interests can be developed. Management development and personal enrichment classes and seminars can be effective tools in achieving skills-stretching. Added responsibility and enouragement are also important to develop the potential of the employees. The manager should not solve the problems for employees. Instead, they should be taught how to solve problems for themselves. Train the subordiantes so that one or more of them can take over the manager’s job when he/she leaves or gets promoted.
- Role Modeling
The staff’s view of the manager can affect his/her attitude towards the entire organization. The manager should not show favoritism, and each employee should be judged equally on his/her work performance. The employees should be given constant and consistent feedback on their performance. The managers should give praise, approval and recognition to the employees, and this would result in the employees becoming more committed to their work.
Never treat the employees with disrespect during work. Also, never tell a new employee that he/she will be a vital part of the team, and then fail to keep them in the loop when changes are occuring in their department.
Instead of criticizing the employees when something foes wrong in the job, coach them.
The manager should take his/her team toward a shared vision.
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
- Educate the employees instead of training them endlessly to teach them the ‘why’ of what they’re doing not just the ‘how’
- The CSE needs to be educated about the financial system.
- He/she should be educated about the conditions required for accepting a waiver.
- Empower employees to increase the level of motivation and self-satisfaction
- Focus on improving their cooperation and coordination skills
- Talk to the employees about the overall vision and goals and how they tie into the overall organization’s strategy and future
BENEFITS EXPECTED
- The process will take up less time, so efficiency will increase
- Fewer people will be needed for a single process. This would reduce costs in terms of the salaries paid to the extra employees
- The employees will be more motivated as they would get greater authority. This will result in greater an better productivity
- Also, the employees will get a chance to learn new skills and enhance their existing ones
- Evaluation of the performance of the employees will be easier as less people will be employed and the jobs will be well-defined
- Customers will be more satisfied with the reduced waiting time
- The non-value adding tasks such as the monitoring, checking and waiting have been removed
- The central database will allow easier and faster communication
- The database will also remove all manual work, such as manually taking out a copy of the various documents and forms and placing them in the store
- The central warehouse will allow the employees to access whatever information they require easily and faster.
- The database and the data warehouse will simplify the search process of any documents needed at any time. Searching a document manually would take a very long time, creating inefficiency
The efficiency will satisfy the customers and so customer loyalty will increase
GLOSSARY
| CSE | Customer Service Executive |
| AMCS | Assistant Manager Customer Services |
| ZMCS | Zonal Manger Customer Services |
| SIR | Store Issue Requisition |
| Customer | A person who comes in/calls regarding any query/problem etc., relating to his/her mobile phone or mobile number |
| User | A connection could be active in a company’s name and the user could be the director of the company. Thus the company is the customer and the director is the user |
| CSF | Customer Services Form |
| CSAF | Cellular Services Agreement Form |
| CAF | Credit Application Form |
| BAF | Bill Adjustment Form |
| SIM | Subscriber Identity Module |
| MSISDN | Mobile Station Integrated Services Data Network: normally referred to as the subscriber number or the mobile number |
| Security Deposit | An amount deposited by the customer at the time of obtaining a connection as a guarantee for payment of monthly bills |
| Credit Limit | A limit set by the company, enabling the customer to use the phone up to a certain specific mark |
| CER Calls | Calls made by the Customer Services Department for informing customers about their current usage |
| C&C Department | Credit and Collections Department |
| VAS | Value Added Services |
| CS Operations | Customer Services Operations |
| Jupiter | The Scottish Software which is being used by Mobilink for billing, reporting and for normal customer care processes |
| IR | International Roaming |
| GSM | Global System for Mobile Communications |
| MS | Mobile Station |
| MSC | Mobile Switching Center |
| Billing Department | Responsible for running all the bills on their respective bills days. Ensuring timely printing of the bills and their delivery. Also, responsible for provision of duplicate bills upon request from Customer Services |
| PSTN | Public Switched Telephone Network |
| XCDR | Transcoder |
| AUC | Authentication Center |
| OMC | Operations and Maintenance Center |
| SAA | SIM Airtime Agreement Form |
| CSR | Customer Services Representative |
